Last Updated on August 6, 2021 by
David Livingstone was born in 1813 at Blantyre, in Scotland. At the age of ten he started work in a cotton mill, and with his first earnings bought a Latin primer. Although his work was arduous, he attended night school and studied at home.
When he was 20 years old, he was thrilled by reading an account of a missionary’s labors in Asia and resolved to devote his life to the alleviation of human misery. Then followed college classes in Glasgow, examination and acceptance by the London Missionary Society, and the completion of his medical studies in London. He also studied theology, botany, zoology, and astronomy—all with his future life-work in mind.
In 1841, he arrived at Cape Town, and for thirty years Dr. Living- stone trarelled all over Africa. He discovered the mighty Victoria Falls and the upper course of the Zaire (the Congo), among other things.
His meagre salary and money from his books all went to equip and finance new expeditions. During the last fifteen years of his life he held a roving commission from thc British Government as Consul.
His last expedition ran into trouble. He was weakened by fever, and some of his native carriers deserted with supplies and his precious medicine chest. A relief expedition sent by the New York Herald, under the command of H. M. Stanley, found him at Ujiji. Stanley tried to persuade Dr. Livingstone to return to civilization, but he refused and set out westward to seek the sources of the Nile.
Dysentery, with complications, attacked him and he grew steadily worse, until. on the morning of May 1st, 1873, he died. His faithful native attendants preserved his body as well as they could and carried it halfway across Africa. His body was taken to England, where it was buried at Westminster Abbey.
Where Did David Livingstone Die?
Livingstone Memorial site, Chipundu, Zambia
What did Livingstone die from?
Malaria
Which country is David Livingstone from?
British
Where is Livingstone buried?
Westminster Abbey, London, United Kingdom
